Of forests and floods: devastatingly high water raises clearcut questions
By Shane Fowler
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And according to some scientists and conservationists, the Red Dragon, along with countless other tree-shorn areas in the province, contributed to the record flooding along the St. John River this spring.
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"You take the trees away and the first thing that happens is you no longer have the canopy of the trees that was originally intercepting snow," said Green, who got her doctorate from the University of British Columbia and teaches at Selkirk College.
"The forest canopy is actually removing snow from the equation."
Green believes reduced absorption is another major impact of forest removal. When snow melts slowly, trees drink more of the meltwater. A lot more.
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